The present invention relates to ice makers for household refrigerators of the type having a compartmentalized stationary tray which is filled with a controlled amount of water and ice is permitted to form in the tray compartments. Ice makers of this type typically employ an electrically operated water fill valve which is controlled to fill the tray when the frozen ice has been removed or harvested from the tray.
In refrigerator ice makers of the type where the ice forming tray is stationary rather than rotated or twisted, it has been found necessary to apply a controlled amount of heat to the tray after ice formation in order to cause a slight amount of melting at the ice-tray interface which serves to facilitate mechanical movement of the ice for removal from the individual tray compartments. Heretofore, the ice formed has exhibited a crescent-shape which has permitted the arms or tines of a rotating comb to sweep the ice from each compartment when the interface between the ice and the tray had melted.
Cresent shaped ice has the disadvantage that, when utilized in a round beverage drinking glass or container, the curved surface of the ice tends to conform to and seal along the sidewall of the circular glass when the user attempts to drink from the glass having several of the crescent-shaped ice chunks received therein. This sealing or blockage along the side wall causes the beverage to be displaced about the sides of the ice and renders drinking from the glass difficult and often results in spillage onto the user. The problem has become sufficiently acute that certain users have purchased polygonally shaped drinking glasses rather than glasses having a circular cross section in order to prevent the crescent shaped ice from aligning with the sidewall of the glass and causing spillage. In order to eliminate the necessity of especially shaped drinking glasses for use with crescent-shaped ice, it has been desired to provide a way or means of making ice from compartmentalized trays having a curved bottom providing crescent ice formation and to permit rotary sweeping of the ice therefrom, and yet provide ice that did not conform to the sidewall of the drinking glass so as to cause blockage and spillage onto the user.